Global cooperation is the only way to solve the growing problem of
environmental damage caused by the IT industry, said Greenpeace on
Friday.

Speaking the day after it slammed HP for dragging its feet with clearing toxic chemicals, including BFRs from the production line, Greenpeace said most vendors are failing to meet even the most basic environmental requirements.

Aside from phasing out BFRs, Greenpeace has called for an end to the
solvents — used to clean circuit boards during the manufacturing
process — and PVC, which is used mainly in cable and wiring.

Nokia, Sony and Samsung are among the companies who have made a
commitment to phase out these harmful toxic chemicals. Sony is starting
to use a bio-based plastic it has made from genetically engineered
starch, Greenpeace said, but most companies still fall short of the
most basic requirements.

Japan is currently leading the world on environmentally sound
manufacturing, according to Greenpeace. Its Green Purchasing Law
requires government bodies to take a lead in procuring environmentally
friendly products and materials.

Iza Kruszewska, toxic campaigner at Greenpeace, said IT companies who planned to comply with the WEEE directive should also apply those standards globally.

"This is a double standard. If you are going to make more
environmentally friendly computers you should be doing this for
customers around the world. Why treat those customers as second class?"
she said.

The WEEE directive makes equipment vendors responsible for ensuring
that products they sell are disposed of in an environmentally safe
manner.

Despite having only recently decided to remove BFRs from its
computer casing, HP is one of the only IT companies to call for a
global law on environmental manufacturing standards, said Kruszewska.
"We are not backing this because calling for a global law is forcing
this issue to the bottom of most government's agendas," she added.

The group have had more success enforcing 'green' IT manufacturing
at a regional level. The complications of trying to enforce legislation
on a global level can prove too time-consuming and unproductive,
Kruszewska explained.

Workers in India and China employed in the recycling of mostly
Western electronic devices were being exposed to potentially hazardous
toxic substances due to the careless manufacturing practices of
technology makers, it claimed.